iMac won't get past blue screen after boot

[dschiller]

Hi all

I have a C2D Aluminium iMac and today i was running Parallels as well as Firefox while copying some folders over to an external HDD when things started to act weirdly (i.e. Firefox became very sluggish, Parallels kept locking, etc). If I tried to cancel the copy of the folders, Finder would simply ignore it. I managed to relaunch Finder and then shut off the computer.

Now though, when booting, I get the usual gray screen with the Apple and spinning wheel, but I can't get past the blue screen after that. I see the cursor, and I can move it, but nothing happens.

If I try booting into safe mode (holding shift), I get to the login window, but after I click "Log in" the window disappears and nothing happens for some time, and then I get back to the login window.

I don't really know what to do. Any suggestions?

Best
Daniel

 

[jcosmide]

I had a similar problem with my Core Duo iMac. It ended up being the first signs of HDD failure. I'd make sure you have your stuff backed up and bring it in to have looked at.

 

[dschiller]

I had a similar problem with my Core Duo iMac. It ended up being the first signs of HDD failure. I'd make sure you have your stuff backed up and bring it in to have looked at.

I have a backup of everything, so that shouldn't be a problem. The problem is that there is no official Apple support in my country, so it will probably cost me an arm and a leg to have the HDD replaced at an "Authorized Retailer".

Can anyone confirm this? Any other ideas?

EDIT: I turned it off, and now everytime i try to turn it on, I get the Apple and spinning wheel on the gray background for about 30 seconds, and then the computer shuts itself off. Any ideas?

 

[ejenks909]

I have to say this is definitely an HDD error. I recently had my MacBook Pro fixed for the exact same reason. The symptoms were just as you described. My advice? If you are able to, back up all of the data you want to keep, and bring it to the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store. If the warranty on your machine is still in effect, you will be able to get it fixed for free. Good luck!

 

[jcosmide]

I have a backup of everything, so that shouldn't be a problem. The problem is that there is no official Apple support in my country, so it will probably cost me an arm and a leg to have the HDD replaced at an "Authorized Retailer".

Can anyone confirm this? Any other ideas?

I assume, then that you are out of warranty/don't have applecare. I've never dealt with an authorized reseller, so I don't really know. It would have cost me $400 USD to get mine replaced if I had not had applecare.

What country are you in?

 

[dschiller]

I assume, then that you are out of warranty/don't have applecare. I've never dealt with an authorized reseller, so I don't really know. It would have cost me $400 USD to get mine replaced if I had not had applecare.

What country are you in?

I'm in Brazil, and my warranty expired a couple of months ago

If this is definitely a HDD problem, maybe I should just buy a new HDD and take it to a reseller, and ask them to replace it. It'll probably be way cheaper. I'd just have to make sure it's got to do with the HDD, so if anyone has had a similar experience, please share.

Thanks for all the input

 

[ejenks909]

I'm in Brazil, and my warranty expired a couple of months ago

If this is definitely a HDD problem, maybe I should just buy a new HDD and take it to a reseller, and ask them to replace it. It'll probably be way cheaper. I'd just have to make sure it's got to do with the HDD, so if anyone has had a similar experience, please share.

Thanks for all the input

That is exactly what you should do. I have had the same problem. Open Disk Utility and it'll tell you if it's damaged. I'd say it's 80% likely that it's HDD damage

 

[dschiller]

That is exactly what you should do. I have had the same problem. Open Disk Utility and it'll tell you if it's damaged. I'd say it's 80% likely that it's HDD damage

Ok, I got into Disk utility from the Install DVD. When I tried to repair permissions, I got the following error:



Then, when I asked it to verify the disk, I got the following errors:




When I tried to repair the disk, I got these:




"Invalid node structure
Volume check failed

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit

1 volume could not be repaired because of an error"

Does this confirm that my HDD is the problem?

I am truly sorry for the bad quality of the pics, but all I've got is a crappy cell phone camera...

 

[ejenks909]

I'm pretty sure that confirms it, mine said something similar. (mac has a screenshot function, lol). I'd go get it checked out if I were you. Good luck.

 

[dschiller]

I'm pretty sure that confirms it, mine said something similar. (mac has a screenshot function, lol). I'd go get it checked out if I were you. Good luck.

Gonna do that tomorrow then. BTW, I know about the screenshot function, but how am I supposed to access the picture if the HDD is broken in the first place?

Thanks for all the help

EDIT: Just to make sure, this one will work, right? Linky

 

[ejenks909]

Gonna do that tomorrow then. BTW, I know about the screenshot function, but how am I supposed to access the picture if the HDD is broken in the first place?

Thanks for all the help

EDIT: Just to make sure, this one will work, right? Linky

Sorry, but I have no clue about what kind of hard drive to get. I didn't have to to choose, as apple replaced mine with the same kind I had before

 

[dschiller]

Sorry, but I have no clue about what kind of hard drive to get. I didn't have to to choose, as apple replaced mine with the same kind I had before

No worries, I'm pretty sure that's the real deal.

Thanks once more

 

[dschiller]

Just an update.

Just to make sure I was facing an HDD problem, I installed OS X on an external USB drive, and booted from it, and everything ran fine. I then decided to try one last thing: I wiped my Macintosh HD and reinstalled OS X from scratch. Bingo!, everything is back to normal, and I'm currently transferring my files from a Time Machine backup. Thanks to my backup, it ended up being no more than a minor nuisance.

Cheers
Daniel